Ch.221221. Gifts and Answers (5)

There’s a joke that says there are three unavoidable things in life.

Time, death, and most importantly, taxes.

Particularly taxes, which will exist as long as human society does, regardless of their form or structure, are naturally present even in the feudal state of the Frankish Kingdom.

Of course, the specifics are quite different from modern taxation systems.

First of all, in this world, taxes are collected by those in power, but at the same time, the act of paying taxes is also a “privilege” available only to certain classes.

Serfs, who make up the vast majority of the kingdom’s population, aren’t tax-paying entities but semi-slaves who farm others’ land with others’ tools. They aren’t completely without sovereignty or freedom, but even serfs under more lenient lords are comparable to the external slaves of the Joseon Dynasty.

Most serfs aren’t even guaranteed the basic right to own property, and in harshly managed territories, they’re often treated like livestock.

Therefore, while the tenant fees paid by serfs could be considered taxes in some sense, if we’re being strict, these are more like land rental fees, so let’s set that aside.

In the end, taxes are only imposed on free people, those who are treated better than serfs… those not bound to the land.

Free people in this era are basically city dwellers or self-sufficient farmers who cultivate land in villages with self-governing rights. They’re treated better than serfs, but in exchange, they have the obligation to pay taxes.

They live in cities or safe villages and receive protection—which might sound like nonsense akin to protection money from gangsters in modern terms, but considering the historical context, it’s not entirely nonsensical.

Therefore, these free people pay a “head tax” as a kind of payment for the lord’s protection.

This basic tax system, which imposes taxes based on the number of people, may be miserable for those who pay, but there’s nothing more convenient for those who collect.

They just need to roughly survey the population and then impose a fixed tax according to that number.

However, this head tax inevitably leads to inequity in many cases.

When wealthy merchants and construction workers are taxed equally, it might be pocket change for the merchant, but the construction worker’s back breaks from the burden.

Of course, rulers who understand these equity issues try to come up with their own solutions.

For example, villages with loose self-governing rights have relatively lower head taxes but receive less “protection” compared to cities, while cities are kept safe from external monsters but have higher head taxes imposed.

In addition, they try to tax the rich by collecting taxes based on the number of windows, imposing tolls on people entering and exiting city gates, and applying a primitive form of income tax on goods traded in markets, but…

The more these miscellaneous taxes increase, the more the wealthy use various loopholes and bribes to reduce or avoid taxes, leaving the burden on the middle class.

Particularly infamous in this era are professional tax collectors, known as “tax farmers,” who are notorious in reality as well.

These individuals, who could be described as “tax collection contractors,” pay a certain amount to receive tax collection rights for a specific area, and then collect taxes from that area for a certain period, adding a portion on top of what they paid.

Usually, monarchs or leaders use these tax collection contractors when they need quick cash, but…

Doesn’t it seem obvious that there are too many loopholes in this system?

The structure is strangely loose yet simple, making it easy to abuse, and like all subcontracting systems, it inevitably becomes a mess of corruption and bribery.

Therefore, the vast majority of tax collection contractors have such a terrible image that they’re often purged at the slightest pretext to appease public sentiment. Knowing their own terrible reputation, they naturally slide further into depravity.

And in this world, taxes aren’t just exchanged between individuals and rulers; we can’t overlook the taxes that each territory or manor pays to the central government.

The Frankish Kingdom is often mocked as a collection of small countries, but it’s fundamentally established as a state ruled by a king.

Unlike the Holy Empire, where the emperor has no governing authority over vassal states that aren’t prince-electors (considering political backlash), all land in the Frankish Kingdom is basically the king’s private property.

Formally, the lords who rule each territory are merely local officials, but can it really work that way in practice?

No matter how much the law states that lords are local officials who have been delegated authority by the king, in reality, each lord is the effective ruler of a territory comparable to a small country.

Therefore, while the royal family has few actual rights over each territory, they know better than anyone that these rights are what constitute the kingdom as a kingdom, so they try to defend these rights at all costs…

The right to collect taxes—the right to impose and collect taxes on each territory—was considered something absolute.

Therefore, at certain times, the central government of the kingdom dispatches tax collectors to tour each territory and collect taxes.

These tax collectors, as executors and representatives of royal authority, typically hold a crucial position in the career path of so-called elite officials.

It’s a position that must be passed through to become a high-ranking official in the royal court, similar to the “cheongyo-jik” in the Joseon Dynasty.

“Here are the silver coins for the tax imposed on this medium-sized manor.”

So, hoping to avoid any incidents or conflicts, I handed him the chest containing the taxes without any complaint…

“…”

“Is there a problem? I’ve paid all the taxes imposed on the manor.”

“…Tsk. How oblivious. This is far from enough!”

“…Huh?”

Despite having paid all the taxes, when this tax collector brazenly stepped forward, I was so dumbfounded that I closed my mouth.

This guy, despite being a so-called elite official, was openly trying to extort money under the pretext of taxes.

And he was doing this to a high-rank who is treated as a state guest by the royal family… and considered a living strategic weapon.

※ ※ ※

Usually, in any era, tax collection contractors are no different from thugs who extort money using taxes as an excuse.

Since they purchased tax collection rights with the purpose of extorting money in the name of taxes, it’s natural, but because of this, most tax collectors like tax farmers are notorious for extorting more money than the original tax and pocketing the difference.

However, unlike this trend, the tax collectors directly dispatched by the Frankish Kingdom’s royal family are slightly different.

Just becoming a royal tax collector already means you’re on a path to success, and success brings power and wealth to public officials.

If we were to compare this to reality, it’s like being a medical student—a pre-elite whose success is already guaranteed just by enduring.

Therefore, they never commit the act that every tax collector of this era commits: deliberately over-collecting taxes and then embezzling them.

To be frank, if they succeed in their careers, they can receive legal money in the form of gifts while working as officials, but if they embezzle or extort taxes, the backlash would certainly be several times worse.

Moreover, ordinary tax collectors and royal tax collectors differ in their collection targets.

Unlike extracting taxes from commoners under various pretexts, they can’t extort money from nobles.

Royal tax collectors, though considered elite, are typically ranked one level below territorial nobles, so there’s absolutely nothing to gain from being marked by them.

So I could roughly guess the situation.

I judged that this guy was likely just crazy about money and causing trouble…

Considering that the knights who noticed I was a high-rank were aghast and shaking their heads frantically at me, it would be easier to assume that this tax collector was just acting crazy.

Therefore, I came to a conclusion.

‘…At this point, I could beat him up and no one would say anything?’

Given how clear the justification is, whatever I do to this tax collector in front of me won’t cause any major problems.

Rather, showing mercy by sparing this guy who dared to confront a high-rank might be praised as benevolent—in fact, that’s more likely.

And once I’ve reached a conclusion… naturally, I should act on it.